Share My Soul, Part Three: Love Is Patient
by castielofasgard
Summary: [Last of the 'Share My Soul' series. Soulmate AU where you have your soulmate's first words to you tattooed on your wrist in white and they turn black on the day you will meet them.] Clint is determined to give Pietro all the love he's been denied. Pietro is determined to return all that love, no matter how difficult his past makes it. [Warnings: language, mentions of sexual abuse]


Well, Natasha's promise had held true. Clint had indeed said yes. But now, Pietro was even more nervous than before. He had never actually been on a date before, so he'd asked Natasha about three dozen questions, most of which she had an answer for. The next obstacle was what he was supposed to wear. It wasn't a fancy restaurant, but he did want to look nice. And he had very little clothing to begin with. So Wanda and Natasha took him shopping and they found him some nice pants and a shirt and Pietro felt rather ridiculous, but he couldn't deny that he looked pretty damn good. Now all that was left was the hard part: the date itself.

* * *

Oh. My. God. Pietro had asked him on a date. An _actual_ date. This could not be real. Clint hadn't been on an actual date in... well, a really long time. He and Natasha hadn't really had time for a while, so their date nights were typically pizza and a movie in bed. But a real date, with Pietro Maximoff. This was definitely unreal. And man, he felt as nervous as a teenager on prom night.  
"God, has he even been on a date before? Does he know what to do? He didn't know how to make friends, for Christ sake, the poor kid's gonna be clueless..." he worried.  
"He's gonna be fine, Clint. You think I'd throw him out to sea without teaching him to swim first?" Natasha said, buttoning up his shirt for him.  
"Good. Good," Clint said distractedly. "You're sure you're okay with this? We don't have to..."  
"I wouldn't have encouraged him if I wasn't okay with it," said Natasha. "Besides, how could I resist? It's almost disgusting how adorable he gets at the mere idea of you."  
"Really?"  
"It's cavity-inducing."  
Clint grinned bashfully and stepped back to look at himself in the mirror.  
"Do I look okay? Are you sure the purple shirt was the best idea?" he asked.  
"You look amazing, honey," Natasha reassured him. She gave him a kiss. "Now get going. You don't want to be late."

* * *

They met downstairs and took a taxi to the restaurant. Pietro held doors and pulled out Clint's chair for him. They shared a bottle of wine and a pizza (because _of course_ Clint's favorite restaurant was a pizzeria, Pietro hadn't even been surprised when Natasha told him), and talked for hours, and Pietro laughed more than he had since... well, more than he'd ever laughed in his life, to be honest. They finally paid and left the restaurant, but decided to walk back to Avengers Tower rather than taking a cab. As they walked, Clint took Pietro's hand, intertwining their fingers and causing Pietro's heart to leap. It felt so perfect, Clint's strong hand clasped in his, and he never wanted to let go. It was lucky Clint knew the streets of New York so well, because Pietro was too busy gazing at him to pay much attention to where they were going.  
At last, they reached Avengers Tower and stopped outside the door, reluctant to go inside and put an end to their date.  
"Thanks for tonight. I really enjoyed it," Clint said.  
"I'm glad you did," said Pietro. "So did I."  
"We should do it again sometime."  
"I'd like that."  
They fell silent, though neither of them made a move for the door. Pietro looked down at their hands, still clasped together. There was only one more thing that could make this date complete. He looked back up at Clint, who had been watching him with a fond smile.  
"Can I... can I kiss you?" he asked shyly.  
"I thought you'd never ask," said Clint, his smile growing.  
Pietro took a step forward and suddenly they were mere inches apart, and he could have counted Clint's eyelashes if he wanted to. His eyes flickered down to Clint's slightly parted lips, then he closed the gap between them. It only lasted a moment; he didn't want to push it too far, not right away. He pulled away, his eyes still closed, the feel of Clint's lips still lingering. Then Clint cupped Pietro's cheek with his free hand and pulled him back in. Kissing him was more intoxicating than the wine he could still taste on Clint's lips, and twice as sweet. It seemed to slow down time and speed it up all at once, and all too soon, he felt, they broke breathlessly apart.

* * *

Clint was definitely aware of how obnoxious the rest of the Avengers probably thought he and Pietro were being, considering they had all walked in on the pair of them making out at least three times each. But he couldn't help it. They were in that honeymoon, can't-keep-their-hands-off-each-other stage. And kissing Pietro was addicting. More so than any booze, drug, or anything else on earth, he was sure. It was like magic. Clint could tell from the way Pietro kissed that he had some experience, but he could also tell from his desperate passion that he had never before been kissed in a way that made him feel loved.  
Realizing this made Clint want to give Pietro more love than ever. The poor kid had been through so much and been cared about so little. For over half his life, there had only been one person alive who even gave a shit about him. It wasn't fair, not when Pietro deserved all the love in the world. Sure he was a cocky little pain in the ass, but he was _Clint's_ pain in the ass now, and man, oh man, did he love him.

* * *

This was unlike anything Pietro had ever experienced. To be in love and be loved back, to hold and be held, to kiss like the world was ending. For most of his life, Wanda had been the only person who loved him and cared for him and made him feel special and human and worthy of love. But now there was Clint, and this was an entirely different kind of love, a love that he felt in his body and soul.

Of course, because this was his life, something had to come up and make things difficult. Things weren't allowed to be perfect. The universe didn't like him nearly enough for that.

It was late, and they were in Pietro's room sharing one last (rather long) kiss before parting ways for the night. They were getting rather into it, bodies pressed so close that the flex of every muscle was felt by the other. Clint's hands wandered downward until they found Pietro's ass, and then suddenly the spell broke as a bolt of panic shot through him. Pietro pulled away and stumbled backwards, hitting the wall behind him. Clint was staring at him in alarm and confusion. Pietro groaned, mortified with himself, and sank to the floor, burying his face in his knees.  
"Pietro? Are you okay?" Clint asked tentatively, kneeling beside him on the floor. "I'm sorry, I didn't think... it was too much, too fast..."  
"No, no, no, it's not your fault," said Pietro. "It's me, it's..."  
He squeezed his eyes shut, trying and failing to get a handle on himself. His heart was beating too fast and his breathing was coming in short, shaky bursts. _Dammit_ , now was not the time for a panic attack. He tried to take a few deep breaths with no success.  
"Oh God, Pietro, how can I help?" said Clint.  
Pietro just leaned his head back against the wall, his bottom lip trembling as he willed the impending tears not to escape.  
"Okay, um... is it okay if I touch you?" Clint asked.  
Pietro nodded, his eyes still shut tight. Clint placed his right hand on Pietro's knee and with his left began stroking his hair. A pleasant chill ran down his spine and a little bit of the tension in his shoulders slipped away.  
"It's okay. You're gonna be okay," said Clint gently. "You're safe, nothing's gonna hurt you. Not Hydra, not Ultron, not anybody. I'm right here, and I'm gonna keep you safe. I'm not gonna let anyone hurt you. You're safe."

It took nearly ten minutes for Pietro to calm down.  
"You okay now?" Clint asked.  
"Yeah..."  
"You wanna talk about it? Or would that trigger you again?"  
"No, it's fine," said Pietro. "You should probably know anyway..."  
He took a deep breath before continuing.  
"Hydra did a lot more to us than experiments. After we got our powers... well, Wanda was so powerful, they were too scared to lay a hand on her in case she incinerated them or something. Which meant I got the worst of it. All they had to do to subdue me was chain my feet and threaten to hurt Wanda if I didn't let them do whatever they wanted with me. I was okay with it if it meant I could protect my sister from being hurt any more. But... well... it wasn't just torture."  
"Oh God, they didn't...?" Clint gasped.  
"I'd get passed around like some sort of toy," said Pietro bitterly. "They'd use me and force me to do things... if I tried to resist, they'd hit me and force themselves on me. My only comfort was knowing that as long as they were doing those things to me, Wanda was safe. So even though we still hated the Avengers at the time, it was a relief when you showed up at the base."  
"Pietro... Jesus, I'm so sorry."  
"It's not your fault. I just... I don't think I'm ready yet."  
"I get it. Hell, if I was in your shoes, I don't know if I'd ever be ready," said Clint. "So you can take as long as you need. We've got the rest of our lives. I'm in no hurry. And if and when you _are_ ready, we'll take it as slow as you need to. I just want you to feel safe."  
Pietro smiled at him gratefully.  
"Thank you," he said.  
"I love you, Pietro."  
"I love you too."  
"So what we _are_ gonna do tonight is get in that bed, and you're gonna curl up next to me, and I'm just gonna hold you until we both fall asleep. That sound good?" Clint said.  
"Yes it does," said Pietro.

Clint helped him to his feet and they both climbed into Pietro's bed, pulling up the sheets. Pietro settled down with his head resting on Clint's chest, and Clint wrapped his arms around him and drew him close. Pietro took slow, steady breaths, trying to match his breathing to Clint's until their chests both rose and fell in unison. By the time he drifted to sleep, he was certain that even their heartbeats were in sync.


End file.
